Best Tweets for Trauma and PTSD Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

Please Share My Stuff! You can now “like” and “share” this post everywhere with the touch of a button or two at the end of the linked tweets! Feel free to do any or all of that! (And thanks.)

Linked Tweets

National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week

@natasha_tracy Ten Steps a Parent Can Take to Safeguard a Child’s Mental Health
[SEO: “If symptoms of psychological distress are already present in a child, there are things you can do to stop them from getting worse.” These ten steps are both broad and for the long term, and will benefit any child whether he/she has mental health concerns or not.]

@healthyplace Signs and Symptoms of Child Abuse and Neglect
[SEO: “The first step in helping abused or neglected children is learning to recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect. The presence of a single sign does not prove child abuse is occurring in a family; however, when these signs appear repeatedly or in combination you should take a closer look at the situation and consider the possibility of child abuse.” Note: this post does not specifically address or include signs of child sexual abuse, but is helpful for its stated scope.]

@patriciasinglet Dissociation “Uniquely Associated” With Child Sexual Abuse
[SEO: “Experts agree that, not only is dissociation ‘uniquely associated’ with sexual abuse, but it also causes the victim to have a greater chance of psychiatric problems later in life. Drs. Cassandra L. Kisiel and John S. Lyons say the person who suffers with dissociation, has hindered functioning and they may suffer ‘serious psychopathology.'”

Includes a list of symptoms that often accompany dissociation, and discussion of re-creating trauma, higher suicide rates, addictions, and depression.]

PTSD Resources

@DCoEPage What are some PTSD treatment options?
[SEO: While this is geared toward vets, it’s also great info for anyone dealing with PTSD. “The main treatments for people with PTSD are counseling (known as “talk” therapy or psychotherapy), medications, or both. Although there are a number of treatment options for PTSD, and patient response to treatment varies, some treatments have been shown to have more benefit in general.” The treatment options discussed here are not limited to types of talk therapy and meds. Also discusses EMDR, group, family and couples therapies, and alternative approaches such as accupuncture and yoga.]

Will changing PTSD’s name change its stigma?Two Points of View

@IAVAPressRoom New name for PTSD could mean less stigma (via @washingtonpost)
[SEO: “It has been called shell shock, battle fatigue, soldier’s heart and, most recently, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Now, military officers and psychiatrists are embroiled in a heated debate over whether to change the name of a condition as old as combat. … Military officers and some psychiatrists say dropping the word ‘disorder’ in favor of ‘injury’ will reduce the stigma that stops troops from seeking treatment.” See the next article below, for a resounding “no”.]

@SuePeaseBanitt How to make PTSD go away. Easy, change its name. (via @dailykos)
[SEO: “I guess that after speaking to every 19-year-old in America, General Peter Chiarelli, has the wisdom to tell us, ‘No 19-year-old kid wants to be told he’s got a disorder.'” (Washington Post)

“Of course the real reason is a shift to ‘injury’ could make it harder for service members to collect permanent-disability payments. According to Charles Figley, director of Tulane University’s Traumatology Institute, ‘When you have an injury, you follow a treatment regimen and expect to get better,’ Figley said. ‘This change is about medicine, but it is also about compensation. We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.'”]